Cavanagh confident Whitehill will do themselves proud at Montrose

Whitehill Welfare manager Paul Cavanagh leads his Rosewell club into their biggest game of the season when they travel north to meet SFL Third Division side Montrose in the third round of the Scottish Cup.

Cavanagh has already master-minded two difficult hurdles against teams from the Highland League - Lossiemouth (4-0) and Wick Academy (4-3) - although he fully appreciates that this game is a much bigger challenge.

"Although Montrose are in the bottom half of the Third Division it is still a big ask to go and play away from home on their own plastic pitch," said Cavanagh. "I have been to watch them and the surface looks similar to what we train on and there seemed to be a regular bounce to the ball."

Cavanagh, however, is in charge of a team who are in confident mood, having lost only one game since mid- August.

"The one game we lost in that period, 4-1 to Ormiston, struck home to the players what it means to play for Whitehill Welfare and the response since that game has been fantastic. The players have proved that Whitehill are not a bad side and we could not have asked for any more from the guys.

"Big games like this one tomorrow can be decided by little decisions like the players deciding when to pass, when to shoot and so on, so we need a lot of things to come together. If we can perform as I know we can and every player gives that extra ounce then I am confident that the players can do themselves proud.

"It is a huge day for Whitehill Welfare and our supporters so I sincerely hope that everyone connected with the club enjoys themselves."

Cavanagh has goalkeeper Youssef Bejaoui putting in some quality performances to form the backbone of a resolute defence while Darren McGlashan and Andrew Kidd have been exceptional in midfield. Cavanagh can also rely on Daryl Devlin and Ross Allum up top.

"I will be asking our players to really enjoy the occasion, play as they can and maybe, just maybe, we can cause an upset."